Miami Heat Captain Enters COVID-19 Protocol After Blasting ‘Bubble’

Udonis Haslem

Getty Udonis Haslem #40 of the Miami Heat in action against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second half at American Airlines Arena on April 09, 2019.

The Miami Heat ruled two players out for Tuesday’s game, including veteran captain Udonis Haslem who entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols for COVID-19. The team also listed Markieff Morris (neck) out and P.J. Tucker (leg) questionable against the Washington Wizards.

Haslem – Miami’s beloved emotional leader, not mascot – has been seeing increased burn in recent weeks as a spike in COVID-19 cases has reduced rosters across the league. That, and injuries have decimated the Heat and shortened Erik Spoelstra’s bench. Haslem scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds in 11 minutes on December 26, three nights after going for seven points and five boards in 12 minutes. He’s played in eight games this season after seeing just one total minute of game action last year.

Omar Yurtseven will be the only available center tonight with Haslem out due to COVID-19 and Bam Adebayo recovering from thumb surgery. Dewayne Dedmon is expected to miss one to two weeks with a Grade 1 MCL sprain. Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin remain in the health and safety protocols, with no new update on when Victor Oladipo (quadriceps) may return.

Yet the Heat continue to pull out under-manned victories: three straight wins and five of their last six. For Spoelstra, it’s a matter of throwing his young guys in and letting them sink or swim.

“We’ve always said this,” Spoelstra said (via the Sun-Sentinel), “that there’s no better player development for a young player than playing in competitive games with context, meaning and consequences.”

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Haslem: ‘Not Going to Live in a Bubble’

There has been quiet chatter about the NBA possibly reverting back to the “Orlando Bubble” format that saved the 2020 season. With COVID-19 cases on the rise, the league could protect its product by guarding against infections and replacement players needing to sign hardship deals. But not everyone wants to do that.

Haslem admitted it’s a “scary” time right now. He predicted the numbers would sky-rocket again. However, the 41-year-old center doesn’t want to go back to the bubble. Life needs to get back to normal.

“We’re not going to live our lives in a bubble, though. We got to move around, we got to engage,” Haslem said, via the Miami Herald. “But we got to be safe, we got to try to enjoy our holidays. But there’s a responsibility and accountability out here right now to try to be safe.

“But I don’t know if there’s much you can do. The way it’s spreading like wild fire, I don’t know. Who knows? I might have already had it and didn’t even know it. It’s going around.”


COVID-19 Outbreak Not Limited to Players

The Heat placed assistant coach Caron Butler and trainer Jay Sabol on the COVID-19 list, per Anthony Chiang. Joining them in the health and safety protocols was Heat TV analyst John Crotty. He will be replaced in the booth by Ruth Riley-Hunter (via Barry Jackson) who will offer commentary alongside Eric Reid.

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